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Warship Standards and Designation
With the first space-faring ships and arrival to the Mjolnir galaxy, the Empire and other Human factions established the Warship Standards and Designation, which is followed by all Humans and even few native species. The standards defines the sizes of the starship classes, and most of their functions; thought; it should be noted other factions and races do not adhere strictly to these guidelines. Corvettes The smallest warship, corvettes serve as scouts and light escorts for fleets, using their impressive speed and small size to their advantage. Outgunned by most vessels, corvettes serve as only minor fire-support in battle or serve as large-scale boarding craft thanks to their survivability and capacity over shuttles or boarding pods. These vessel range between 50-100 meters. Frigates General-purpose warships that also serve as a fleet’s screen and point-defense carriers to intercept enemy H.M.Vs or fighters. Adaptable for any role, frigates are the backbone of any fleet. Frigates often operate in wolf packs to overwhelmn larger vessels in combat and for protection against larger, more powerful vessels due to their lack of superior firepower and/or durability. Frigates range usually from 300-500 meters in length. Destroyers Vessels designed to providing heavy fire support and often carry more firepower than ships of larger categories. Their main role is to destroy other warships with their superior firepower from a distance, but they also serve the role of fleet guardians by launching proximity charges into space to engage warships that are either cloaked or to make assaults on the fleet by HMVs and bombers more difficult on their approach. These vessels are only slightly larger than frigates, ranging from 300-600 meters. Marauders Ships equipped with super-charged engines, these vessels can outrun all ships above and below its size while remaining decently armed to protect itself until it can enter light-speed or get out of range with only corvettes being able to exceed them in speed. In combat, they serve as flankers and pursuers for a fleet, providing mobility most vessel do not have, but suffer by having only modest armour and weapons with the engines taking the majority of the vessel. Marauders tend to range from 500-600 meters. Cruisers Heavily-armoured warships designed to slug it out with other vessels, head on, with their superior armour, forward mounted cannons and power shielding. Though underarmed compared to a destroyer, cruisers are often armed with high-powered cannons to destroy enemy vessels with only a few well-placed shots but more vulnerable to close-range, broadside engagements where they cannot bring the majority of their weapons to bear. They also serve as bombardment vessels thanks to their range. Cruisers range from 500-750 meters. Cruisers are also sometimes divided into several other sub-classes for more specific roles. *Light Cruiser - Though lighter than the standard cruiser, light cruisers maintain their armor protection and shielding. The difference is in armament, where the forward mounted cannons are removed and replaced by weaponry meant for anti-aircraft and anti-HMV duty. *Heavy Cruiser - Heavy Cruisers are more armoured variants, whose armour can compete with a Battleship's in thickness. *Battlecruiser - Heavilly-armed cruisers with firepower rivaling that of a destroyer's, battlecruisers are serious threat to larger ships. *Patrol Cruiser - Carriers Though vessels of many classes will often have a limited capacity to transport fighters, HMVs and infantry, carriers are specifically designed for such a role. Varying from 500 meters in length to as much as 1000 meters or longer, the most familiar carriers are the fighter transports used by many navies to bring support craft forces to bear during offenses. Carriers are also not intended for combat, often bearing heavy armor to protect the craft as it pulls out of fights but equipped with extremely minimal weaponry. Battlestars A rather unique class of starship that has only recently begun to see service, Battlestars are a hybridization of classical carrier functionality with the pure combat potential of battleships. Often reaching over a thousand meters in length, battlestars blur the line between battleship, heavy carrier and even dreadnought in some cases, generally bearing both a massive armament and a small fleet of support craft, and can even have infantry units up to division-size assigned to it. The Southern Rim has pioneered battlestar development, with the NOR and UFSR deploying the first combat-ready models in the 90's. Battleships The largest vessels before dreadnoughts and capital-class ships, battleships are designed to slug it in close with the enemy in broadside engagements with a plethora of weaponry allowing the vessel to tackle most vessels, including dreadnoughts at close-range. They have incredible armour and shielding to survive bombardments until they are within range. Battleships are also large enough to carry their own considerable amount of fighters, H.M.Vs and bombers in battle. Battleships ranged from 750-1000 meters in length, comparable to some dreadnoughts. Dreadnoughts/Capital-class The largest vessel any fleet can muster, Dreadnoughts are the most powerful vessel in terms of armour, shielding, firepower and carrying capacity. Used as flagships, dreadnoughts serve as the heart of any fleet. They are armed to deal with any threat to make up for their poor mobility and are large enough to carry frigates, corvettes into battle as well as their large complement of fighters, bombers, and HMVs. Dreadnoughts are classified as anything at or above 1000m. Dreadnoughts that are past 2000 meters in length are known as super dreadnoughts. Category:Ships